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Virginia Fox
Virginia Fox
	Fox in The Blacksmith, 1922
Born	Virginia Oglesby Fox; April 19 (year of birth disputed); Wheeling, West Virginia, U.S.
Died	October 14, 1982; Santa Monica, California, U.S.
Resting place	Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1915–1929
Spouse	Darryl F. Zanuck (1924–1979)
Children	3, including Richard D. Zanuck
Relatives	Dean Zanuck (grandson)

Virginia Oglesby Zanuck (/ˈzænək/; née Fox; April 19 (year of birth disputed)^{[Note 1]} – October 14, 1982) was an American actress who starred in many silent films of the 1910s and 1920s.

Life and career

Fox was born as Virginia Oglesby Fox in Wheeling, West Virginia (though her grave erroneously lists Charleston, West Virginia, as her place of birth), the daughter of Mary Elizabeth (née Oglesby) and Frederick Fox.^[7]

While on vacation from boarding school, Fox traveled to visit a friend in Los Angeles. The two made a casual stop by the studio of Mack Sennett, where she was hired on the spot and made a bathing beauty in the studio's films. She went on to star as leading lady in many of the early films of Buster Keaton, including 1920's highly regarded Neighbors.^[2]

On January 12, 1924, she married film producer Darryl F. Zanuck, with whom she had three children, Darrylin, Susan Marie, and Richard Darryl. Fox retired from acting but was known as a behind-the-scenes influence on her husband's business decisions. The couple separated in 1956 over the studio mogul's affairs with other women, although they never legally divorced. According to Zanuck biographers, she cared for him at their home from the time he became mentally incapacitated in the early 1970s until his death in 1979.

Despite some Internet accounts to the contrary, Virginia Fox was not related to William Fox, whose name is preserved in the 20th Century Fox film studio, which Darryl Zanuck created and led for decades. William Fox founded Fox Studios but had lost control of it by the time Zanuck acquired it and merged it into his own empire.

Death

On October 14, 1982, Fox died of a lung infection complicated by emphysema at her home in Santa Monica, California after having been sick for about a year.^[8] She was buried near Darryl Zanuck at the Westwood Village Memorial Park Cemetery in Westwood, Los Angeles.^[9]

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1915	A Submarine Pirate
1920	Down on the Farm	uncredited
1920	Neighbors	The Bride
1921	The Haunted House	Bank President's Daughter
	Hard Luck	Virginia
	The Goat	Chief's daughter
	The Playhouse	Twin	Uncredited
1922	The Paleface	Indian Maiden	Uncredited
1922	Cops	Mayor's Daughter
1922	The Blacksmith	Horsewoman
1922	The Electric House	Girl	Uncredited
1923	The Love Nest	The Girl
1926	The Caveman	Party Girl

Notes

^ The year of her birth is unknown as birth records in West Virginia were not mandated until 1917.^[1] It has been listed as 1899^[2] or 1902^[3] or 1903^[4] or 1906^[5] The 1910 Census states she was 9 years old when it was taken on April 15, 1910.^[6]

References

^ "How to Find West Virginia Birth Records". FamilySearch. Retrieved 2023-12-24.
^ ^a ^b Gussow, Mel (October 15, 1982). "Virginia F. Zanuck, Silent Movie Star". The New York Times. Retrieved October 31, 2022.
^ Biodata, imdb.com. Accessed November 27, 2022.
^ ZANUCK, VIRGINIA was born 19 April 1903, received Social Security number 558-66-0352 (indicating California) and, Death Master File says, died October 1982 Source: Death Master File (public domain).
^ Virginia Fox Zanuck gravestone, findagrave.com. Accessed November 27, 2022.
^ "FamilySearch.org". FamilySearch.
^ Harris, Marlys J. (1989). The Zanucks of Hollywood: the dark legacy of an American dynasty. Crown Publishers. ISBN 9780517570203.
^ "V. Zanuck, widow of film tycoon". Chicago Tribune. October 15, 1982. p. 8. Retrieved November 7, 2020 – via Newspapers.com.
^ Ferrell, Sarah (August 13, 1995). "R.I.P. in L.A." The New York Times. Retrieved October 31, 2022.